American Dragon: Jake Long: Hunting the Huntsgirl
by a3grimreaper
Summary: 2 months after Hong Kong Longs, the summer has come to a close and Jake is back in school. Things are finally starting to return to normal... but how normal can things be when you live a double life as a fire breathing dragon? This is the first of many stories to come in place of Season 3. Try to think of each story as an hour episode. Old faces return, and some new along the way
1. Day One

Jake and his friends rode their skateboards down the sidewalk. The wind blowing across their faces, as they listened to the sweet hum of wheels on concrete. The long summer had come to an end. Jake thought about his grandfather's old proverbs. He would probably say something like, "When one door closes, another shall open in its place." Jake's new door, was high school.

"So Jakey, you ready to get down on some new stomping grounds?" Trixie called out.

"Totally, a new school means a new start, with no Rotwood, no long lists of tardies and a absences, and no..."

"No fuzzy green meat loaves?" Spud interrupted.

"Yeah." Jake responded. "This year is going to be great, I won't have to deal with a crazy principal trying to expose me, and since Gramps has cut back on my dragon training, so I'll finally have time to study and relax, and a little extra time for some other things."

Jake hadn't told Trixie and Spud yet, but of everything he had to look forward to today, high school was at the bottom of his list. At the top of his list, was Rose. She was coming back to New York to attend a year of school on a Foreign Exchange Student program. A little ironic, Jake thought, given that she is from here. Her plane was supposed to land later in the afternoon.

"One of things I'm really looking forward to," Jake said, "is a year without Brad."

"Where is Brad?" Trixie asked.

Jake was eager to reply, "Held back again. Between his grades, and his last week prank on Rotwood, the chump is still in middle school."

Jake, Spud, and Trixie were coming up on their new school, about 10 minutes before the first bell rang.

"So this is what it is like to be to school on time," Jake commented, "but if I know my dragon duties, this will probably be the only time I make it here on time."

"Well you know Jake, you could've been on time more often last year if you didn't run off into dreamland with little miss ninja every night." Trixie told him.

"Don't worry," Jake told her, "I don't think the dream charms will be getting very much use this year."

"Why bro? Are like, you and Rose fighting or something?" Spud asked.

"Nah man! I'll tell you about it later." Jake said.

With that, they pushed open the doors of their new school, and walked into the first day, of their next 4 years.


	2. Familiar Faces

Jake pushed open the door, and took his first step in and stopped, shocked in awe.

"Dude! Everything is totally shiny!" Spud exclaimed with excitement.

"Ooo baby! Mama Trixie can see herself in these floors." Trixie added.

Jake took a quick look around. "This place is off the hook!"

The three were so caught up in excitement, none of them noticed the man standing in the corner a couple of feet away from them.

"Ah Mr. Long. How nice of you to make it to school on time for once."

The hair on the back of Jake's next stood up. He knew that voice. As he slowly turned to the direction it came from, his fears were confirmed.

"Rotwood!" All three of them yelled simultaneously.

"Yes, it is I, Professor Rotwood." he replied with his usual confidence.

Jake was the first to speak, "But I don't get it, what are you doing here?"

"Oh did you not hear? The mythology teacher, Mr. Ashton, retired last year, so the position was open. Granted it doesn't pay as well as middle school principal, but there are, you know, certain benefits to teaching at the high school that I would not have had if I stayed at the middle school." Rotwood answered, with a slight smirk on his face. "It is going to be a fun year Mr. Long, I have a feeling we will be spending much time together."

"Aww Maaan!"

**[AUTHOR'S NOTE: REMEMBER TO READ ROTWOOD'S DIALOUGE WITH THE CORRECT VOICE]**

Jake, Trixie, and Spud filed into the auditorium, none of them really understood the point of Freshman Orientation. The only thing they knew is they had to show up the Friday of the week before school actually started. It didn't matter if the upper class men were here or not, they wouldn't be able to find their way around, this place was 3 times the size of their middle school.

"So what's with Rotwood suddenly moving to the high school?" Spud asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Jake answered, "He's following me so he can try and expose me and all other magical creatures to the world. Can this day get any worse?"

Jake's question was answered in the form of a loud and obnoxious voice.

"Out of my way losers! The Bradster is getting a seat in the front with all the hotties."

Jake couldn't believe his luck. Brad was supposed to be in middle school again, yet here he was, shoving his way past everyone like he is the most important person in the room, just like always.

"What are you doing here Brad? I thought you were getting held back again." Jake snorted.

"I was, but the Bradster did some make-up work over the summer, and with a little bit of cash in the pockets of the school board, I got moved up to high school with the rest of you dimweeds." Brad shouted, before shoving his way past.

The fire in Jake's eyes could be seen from a mile away. His rage burned hotter than any fire he had ever breathed.

"I can't believe this! First Rotwood and then Brad! Two of the people I hate more than anything are here!" Jake shouted.

"Calm down Jakey, it's not like them being here is the end of the world." Trixie told him, in an attempt to calm him down.

Jake didn't stop yelling, "This year was going to be perfect, they were supposed to be out of my life, and yet they're here! Who's next? The Huntsman?"

"Well unless there is some magical way to reverse an unreversable, magical wish, then no." Trixie assured him.

Jake let out a long sigh, what else could go wrong today.


	3. Not a Good Day

** [AUTHOR'S NOTE: BEFORE WE BEGIN THIS CHAPTER, I WANT TO TELL YOU THAT I HAVE STARTED A NEW CAMPAIGN TO GET A SEASON 3, FIND IT HERE user/americandragonjakeS3/]**

Rose stood in her room, packing up almost everything she owned. She would be on her own for the year, the program she enrolled in provided each student with their own apartment, rather than assigning them families to live with like most other programs. She wondered how good of an idea that was. Most of the students had never even left Hong Kong before, but she was from New York, so she would be fine.

The decision to go was one she was torn on. On one hand, she still had great feelings for Jake, but on the other, he was the American Dragon. Even with the Huntsclan gone, there would still be other dangers he would have to face, and she would still be a distraction to him. Technically the decision to keep their relationship professional didn't happen, but they both remembered it.

Rose pushed the thought from her mind, it was something they could deal with when she got there. Regardless of where they stood on their relationship she would be able to help Jake with whatever challenges he may face, and that was all the reason she needed.

She hadn't talked to Jake very much recently. She found another dream charm, but it was hard to get any use out of it when Hong Kong is 12 hours ahead of New York. Neither of them really had time for a mid-day nap.

Rose let out a long sigh. If there is one thing that is for certain, it is that history repeats itself, and just like the night of the cruise, Rose is left torn between her personal feelings, and what she knows would be best for Jake.

/

* * *

Every second felt like an hour. Jake couldn't wait to get out of there. He wasn't listening to a single word anyone was saying. The speeches in the auditorium that morning were boring, and the afternoon tour of the school was even more boring. He had trouble focusing during either. The only thing he could think about was meeting Rose at the airport in 2 hours.

He didn't tell her he was going to meet her there, he wanted it to be a surprise. Now that he thought about it, he hasn't really told Rose much of anything, they hardly talked after he left Hong Kong, the long distance thing was a major drag. The tour was just coming to an end.

"That's all of it, we hope you have a great year."

Jake felt a surge of relief when he heard those words from the long dark-haired girl who was leading his tour group. Jake wasn't even sure what her name was. He was sure she probably said it at some point, it was just one of those many points when he wasn't paying attention.

Jake looked up at the clock: 2:57 p.m.

Perfect, that gave him just enough time to get a couple of things done before Rose's flight landed at 5. Jake was just about to start riding off on his skateboard when he heard someone calling him.

"Jake! Wait up!"

Jake turned and looked and was surprised at who he saw. It was Danika.

"Hey Jake! I was wondering if you wanted to hang out." she asked him, with what Jake interpreted to be a hopeful look on her face.

He wasn't exactly sure what to say. The entire time this summer when he was dreaming about Rose, there was one thing he completely forgot about, and now, it was standing right in front of him.

"Uh... Sorry Danika, I've... got to... meet a friend.. somewhere... in a couple of hours." Jake stuttered a little nervously. He could vaguely see the disappointment on her face.

Danika was at a lost for words, finally she managed to say, "Oh... maybe some other time?"

Jake, still not sure exactly how to tell her about Rose, finished the conversation with a, "Maybe."

As Danika was walking away, Jake turned around and saw Trixie and Spud there, with their usual looks of disapproval whenever Jake made a bad decision.

"Jake! Aren't you going to tell her about Rose!" Trixie yelled in an irritated tone.

"I will! I will!" Jake responded, "I'm just... not sure how, she's just barely forgiven me for the last time I hurt her."

Spud was the next to speak, "Trust me bro, the Love Triangle is not a place where you want to be, you end up with 2 angry corners colliding into you, and each other."

"Look guys, can we talk about this later, there is kind of somewhere I gotta be." Jake said, then hurried and rode off before they could give an answer. He was thankful to be out of there. Today was definitely, not a good day.


	4. Ripping off the Band-Aid

** [AUTHOR'S NOTE: QUICK CLARIFICATION ON THE NOTE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE LAST CHAPTER, IT IS A YOU TUBE CHANNEL, I GUESS I CAN'T POST LINKS IN MY OWN STORY.]**

Jake kept riding. Thankful to have a little time to himself to think, to say he had a lot to sort out would be an understatement. He noticed a flower stand up ahead and decided to stop. He was browsing over the assorted selection variously colored flowers, when he heard the last voice he wanted to hear right now.

Danika came walking up behind him, "Hey Jake, I thought you were meeting a friend somewhere." She said a little suspiciously.

Jake's speaking abilities hadn't improved much since their conversation almost 15 minutes ago, "I am... it's just..."

Well, he was going to have to come clean eventually, might as well rip off the band-aid and get it over with.

"Danika, you know Rose?" Jake started off.

"Yeah, I think we met once or twice, blonde hair, blue eyes, dragon on her right hand, didn't she used to go to school here?" Danika asked, starting to figure out where this was going.

Jake wasn't exactly sure how to continue, "Yeah, her. She is coming back as a foreign exchange student. I'm meeting her at the airport in a little while. You see, we kind of..."

He didn't have to finish, Danika knew exactly what was going on.

"Oh, I see. I'll catch you later." She muttered, before walking off in a hurry.

That conversation could have gone better. Jake was standing there, when he was suddenly hit with an alarming thought. Was she following him?

Before he could spend anymore time on the matter, he heard a cry for help. It sounded fairly close. Jake took a quick look around to see if anyone was watching.

"Ear of the Dragon." he said to himself.

As his ear morphed, he listened carefully to the cry. It sounded like it was coming from the alley across the street. Jake hurried over there.

When he arrived, it was a scene he has witnessed almost a thousand times before. A leprechaun and his pot of gold, and a group of trolls hoping to relieve him of his precious cargo.

"Hey Ugly!" Jake called out, "Don't you trolls ever have anything better to do than try and steal gold from leprechauns. Why don't you just run on home?"

The trolls just seemed to ignore him. Guess he would have to find something else to get their attention. Jake reached down to his Ch'i energy.

"Dragon Up!" he yelled, as his body morphed. "You just don't listen, do you?"

That managed to gain their attention.

"It's a dragon! Get him!" the lead troll screamed to the rest of the group.

Trolls, Jake thought, they never learn.

As two went charging forward, Jake quickly swung his tail at both of their ankles, causing them to fall into each other. Another picked up a nearby trash can, and hurled it at Jake, who caught it and flung it right back. The lead troll lifted up a club, and gave out a loud battle cry. Jake gave a quick huff of fire, igniting the club. The troll dropped it, as his battle cry changed its tone into a cry of surprise. Before he could do anything else, Jake hit him with a body slam, causing him to fall over

"Aww yeah! That's right! Don't mess with the Am Drag!" Jake boasted.

Before Jake could say anything else, he was hit from behind with a heavy blow to the head, as everything faded to black.

Jake woke awhile later in a daze. As the memories of what happened just before he passed out flooded back to him, he jumped to his feet and took a quick survey of the area around him. The alley was empty. No leprechaun, no trolls, no one. He changed back to human form.

"Yeah they better run." Jake muttered to himself, "If I hit me from behind, I'd make sure I wasn't around when I woke up too."

Jake stepped out of the alley and looked at a clock hanging in a nearby shop. He'd been out for a couple of hours, but that wasn't the part that worried him. Rose's plane was landing right now, and he was still about 10 minutes away from the airport. He would have to track down those trolls later.

He jumped back on his board and hurried over there.

When he arrived, the place was busy like always. Thousands of people coming and going. Jake spent an hour going over the entire place, but no luck. He couldn't find Rose anywhere.


	5. Where's Rose?

Jake went home that night disappointed. So much for his big surprise. He'd have to talk to Rose later, right now, he had bigger problems to deal with. He thought back to the alley, going over every moment with careful examination. There were four trolls, and he laid a good smack down on four. The Leprechaun was off to his left. The alley was pretty open, not many hiding places in it. The four trolls and the Leprechaun were all within Jake's line of sight when he got hit, so whoever it was, was not in the alley when Jake entered it.

Jake didn't see anyone near the alley before he entered. In fact, other than Danika, he hadn't seen anyone on the street at all. The only answer Jake could think of right now was another troll had come out of a nearby sewer. What else could it have been?

As Jake arrived at his own front steps he started to re-think his priorities. Rose first, trolls later. Jake walked through the door and went straight up to his room without a word to anyone, he could do the whole family thing later.

As soon as he made it to his room, he pulled out his phone and started to call Rose. The phone rang, but much to Jake's dismay, no answer. Then he got another idea. He went to his desk, opened up a drawer and pulled out his dream charm. He clutched it in his hand as he laid on his bed and drifted off.

As Jake's mind went blank, he found himself in the dream corridor, standing just outside his own door. He started off in the direction of Rose's door, he's done this enough times to know exactly where it is. After walking a short distance he was there, standing outside the door labeled 'Rose.' Jake opened it, and stepped in.

After a quick look around, he couldn't find Rose anywhere, she was still awake. As Jake stepped back out into the dream corridor. He started shaking his head and woke himself up.

When he woke up in his room he looked at his alarm clock. He'd been in there for almost 10 minutes. Dream charms were strange things. When you wore them, they helped you fall asleep much quicker, but removed the time lapse that occurred, that made time move much faster in the dream realm.

Now that he knew Rose was awake, he made another attempt to call her, but still no answer.

Jake stood there alone in his room, "Where are you Rose?"


	6. The Hunt Begins

Jake spent the next couple of hours doing homework and then dragon training. Every now and then when he would get a break he would try either calling Rose, or using the dream charm to see if she was asleep yet. She never answered, and was never in the dream realm.

By the time he finished his dragon training for the day and made it home, it was late. He needed to get some sleep before his early Saturday morning training. With the dream charm around his wrist, Jake nodded off. He had confidence that with how late it was, Rose would surely be asleep by now. When he made it to her door, he encountered a problem he had never faced before in the dream realm. The door was locked.

"It's going to take more than a locked door to keep out the Am Drag." Jake said as he morphed into dragon form.

He tried turning the nob with his enhanced dragon strength, and then kicking down the door. When neither worked he hit it with a breath of dragon fire, then took a couple of steps back, and charged it head on, bouncing right off and landing on the floor.

"Aww man," Jake said, rubbing his growing headache, "What are dream doors made of."

He had no choice but to give up. Rose was definitely in there, but for whatever reason, there was no way Jake was going to get in there.

Jake quickly sprung to complete consciousness and ran to his computer. He opened up his email and found an old email Rose had sent him that contained the address of her apartment in Bronx. He quickly scribbled it on a note.

River Hill Gardens, 1981 Sedgwick Ave, Bronx, NY.

Jake questioned how safe it was, letting 15-year-old foreign exchange students live in their own apartments. Even with chaperones on every floor, forcing school attendance, it was just asking for trouble. However since Rose wasn't staying with a family, it would make it easier for her to help Jake.

Jake started for the fire escape outside his window. Since his dad now knew about his role as the magical protector of a secret world, he had taken down that ridiculous alarm system. Jake changed into dragon form and started flying through the air, heading towards Bronx. Something wasn't right.

* * *

Jake stood alone in a long hallway, staring at the large oak door. He gave a quick glance down at the piece of paper in his hand to make sure he had the right place. He knocked on the door and called for Rose. He waited a couple of seconds and tried again.

"Ear of the Dragon." Jake said, pressing his ear against the door.

He couldn't hear anyone inside, so he went back down the stairs, out and around to the side of the building, and shifted into dragon form as he flew up the side of the building to Rose's window, using a little dragon motivation to slide it open when he got there. As he stepped inside and shifted back to human form, he walked across the room, turned on the light, and had a quick look around, the apartment looked untouched. Jake started searching the apartment for any personal belongings, any clue that Rose had been there. Like many other things that night, Jake had no luck. Other than the furniture that came with the apartment the place was empty. No sign of Rose anywhere.

Jake opened the door and walked out into the hall. He looked down the hall and saw one of the program chaperones doing a room check to make sure everyone was in by curfew. Maybe he would have some answers.

Jake walked over to him, "I'm looking for Rose." he said.

The chaperone frowned and looked at his clipboard, "Last name?" he asked, turning the page.

"It's..." Jake started,

"Never mind, I found it," the chaperone interrupted. "Hm, it says here she never checked into her room. Maybe she missed her flight."

Jake thanked the man and walked away. Something was definitely wrong here, but if Jake wanted to find out what, he was going to need help.

* * *

Spud typed furiously at the keyboard, going over records and files.

"According to the program records, Rose checked in at the airport in Hong Kong, and the airline manifest says she was on her plane, but there are no records of her checking in with her chaperone at the airport, or boarding the shuttle from the airport to the apartments. I managed to get a hold of the airport's security footage from earlier today, when Rose's plane was scheduled to land." Spud informed Jake, has he started playing the video file.

Jake studied the computer screen. He saw Rose walk on screen.

"There," he pointed.

Suddenly there was a quick flash of static across the screen, and when it cleared, Rose was nowhere to be seen.

"What happened?" Jake asked.

Spud responded, "It appears that there's a time gap in the footage where all the cameras in the area shut down. I'm searching for one that stayed up, but I'm not finding anything."

"You see!" Jake said, "This totally proofs that something is up!"

"Ok kid you've made your point." Fu said, still a little skeptical. This wouldn't be the first time Jake has overreacted about Rose. "I'll get started on something to try and track her down in the morning, in the meantime, you need to get some shut eye."

"But Fu!" Jake started.

"But nothing kid," Fu interrupted him, "you've done all you can for tonight. It's time for you to get your rest, and pick up the search tomorrow."

And that was the final word on the matter.


	7. How Much do we owe Her?

Jake woke early the next morning and rushed to his grandfather's shop. It was Saturday morning and everyone else in his family was still asleep, allowing him to get out the door quickly. He made the trip to the shop in record time. As he ran through the door he saw Gramps sitting in the front, reading a newspaper and drinking coffee from a mug.

"Jake, you are early for dragon training," Gramps noted.

"No time G." Jake told him, "I have more important business. Fu! How's that potion coming."

Fu poked his head out of the back, "Hold your horses kid, I'm still getting the ingredients together."

Gramps looked up from his paper, "Jake, what is it you intend to use this potion for?"

Jake realized he hadn't informed Gramps of the situation, "I've got to find Rose."

It was easy to see that was the last thing Gramps wanted to hear, "Jake! What have I told you about letting her distract you from your dragon duties!"

"This isn't a distraction Gramps! Rose is in trouble!" Jake tried to explain, "I tried her dream door almost every hour last night, it was locked every time."

"Jake, dream doors do not have locks, Rose must be using a charm to block intruders from her mind." Gramps said.

"The old man may be onto something kid. Are you sure Miss Rose wants to be found?" Fu asked.

"How can you even suggest that?!" Jake shouted, starting to panic a little.

"Jake," Gramps told him, "I will allow you to continue your search, as long as it does not interfere with your duties as the American Dragon. I fear once again you are letting yourself become distracted with wild goose chases."

"Gramps, you don't understand, I have to..." Jake started to explain.

"You have to do your duties young dragon!" Gramps interrupted, "I understand we owe Rose a debt of gratitude, but that does not mean..."

"A debt of gratitude?" Jake interrupted, "G! The entire magical world has almost been destroyed twice, and both times Rose nearly sacrificed herself just to save it! I think we owe her more than just a debt of gratitude!"

Gramps wasn't convinced, "And every time she has saved our lives, you have in turn, saved her life. The struggle of Ying and Yang is even."

Jake wasn't about to quit, "She's removed the 2 greatest threats to the magical world. She turned her back on everything she knew for what she believed was right, knowing it could cost her at any moment. If it wasn't for her, we would've never known the Huntsman was gathering the skulls, we wouldn't have been able to intercept some of them, and none of us would be here right now. I'm finding her G. With or without your permission."


	8. Dragon Training

Jake stood in the back of the shop with Fu, watching as he poured one ingredient after another into the pot.

"Fu, how long is this going to take?" Jake asked.

"Awhile, goblin hair and pixie dust don't mix well together, so it is going to take some time for the bond to form, in the mean time, you should really get on that dragon training."

Jake was annoyed, "Fu, we are not starting that again, I'm finding Rose."

"Look kid," Fu said, "We don't know what kind of danger Rose is in, it might not be a bad idea if you got a little training in before you try and tackle it."

"Fine," Jake replied, "If that's what it will take to get you and Gramps off my back."

Jake walked out into the front of the shop. "Alright G. what are we working on today."

Gramps hadn't finished his paper yet. "Today we will work on awareness of surroundings. As the American Dragon, you will face situations where not everything is as it seems. You will need to use your dragon senses to determine what is around you, when your eyes cannot be trusted."

"Alright G. I'm on it." Jake assured him.

* * *

They went to their usual spot in Central Park. It was relatively isolated, so they never had to worry about being seen. It was also just the right time of Saturday morning where a lot of people were either at work, going to work, or still asleep, yet even with that the regular areas of Central Park were still crowded. The place and time gave them the best balance of amount of room to practice in, time they could spend practicing, and the lowest chances of someone accidentally stumbling in on them.

Jake stood in dragon form with a blindfold over his eyes.

"Remember young dragon," Gramps said to him, "You will not always be able to rely on your eyes to detect opponents around you, use dragon ears to hear changes in your surroundings, smell out your opponents with dragon nose, feel the movement around you."

"Right, feeling." Jake said, as he started concentrating on his surroundings.

Gramps snuck around behind Jake and snapped a twig. Jake instantly turned and faced him. He moved to another side, time for something that wasn't as easy to hear. He dropped a pine cone down to the soft grass. To a human ear, it would've been almost undetectable, but to a dragon ear, it may as well have been a car horn. Jake turned quickly and hit the cone with a breath of fire just as it hit the ground.

"Good, now you must feel the movement in the air, and take out all the targets before they pass you." Gramps said.

He then opened a large box of Frisbees, and tossed them at Jake, who took them all down with an assorted selection of dragon claws, fire, and tail whips.

"Now, we will test your nose." Gramps told him, reaching for 6 pizza boxes, "In 5 of these boxes are pizzas, and in the 6th box, is an apple, you must use your nose to track the apple over the smell of the pizzas as they move around you."

Jake sniffed the air, he could just barely pick out the smell of an apple over all the pizzas. As the pizzas moved around, he focused on the direction he was smelling the apple from. After moving around for 5 minutes the boxes stopped.

"Now young one, with the blindfold on, you must find the box with the apple." Gramps said.

"Right G. No prob." Jake assured him, as he walked to a nearby box and opened it.

He removed his blindfold to see if he chose correctly, and was disappointed to see a pizza with apple slices as toppings.

"You need more focus." Gramps told him sternly. "You need to be able to identify the exact scent of what you are searching for, and not be distracted by similar scents in your environment. Work on it in your free time."

"But Gramps," Jake said, "Where did you even get pizzas with apples on them?"

"44th st." Gramps answered.


	9. Staten Island

**[AUTHOR'S NOTE: SO THE STORY IS PROGRESSING AT A FASTER RATE THAN I ORIGINALLY THOUGHT IT WOULD, SO I NEED SOME INPUT, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO SLOW THINGS DOWN AND TRY TO DRAG THIS OUT A LITTLE LONGER (PLEASE NOTE THIS WON'T BE MY ONLY AMERICAN DRAGON STORY, THERE WILL BE OTHERS AFTER IT) OR ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE CURRENT RATE OF PROGRESSION AND WANT ME TO JUST KEEP IT THE WAY IT IS, OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO ME TO SPEED THIS UP AND GET ON TO THE NEXT STORY (I HAVE SOME IDEAS FOR THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS I CAN JUST CUT OUT TO FINISH THE STORY SOONER) ALSO WHAT ABOUT CHAPTER LENGTH. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE LONGER CHAPTERS, SHORTER CHAPTERS, OR KEEP THE CHAPTERS THEIR CURRENT AVERAGE LENGTH.]**

After his brief dragon lesson, Jake made his way back to the shop with his grandfather, eager to get back to searching for Rose. When they entered, the entire shop stank of goblin belches and sweaty gym socks.

"Man Fu," Jake complained, waving his hand in front of his nose, "what are you doing in here."

"What's it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to whip up something you can use to find your girlfriend." Fu answered him. "Still going to need a lot more time though, it should be ready by tomorrow."

"But Fu! We need to find Rose now!" Jake told him.

"This is the only choice we got kid, unless your willing to wait for a krylock to show up." Fu responded.

"Come on Fu, there has to be something you can do to finish sooner." Jake insisted.

"Sorry, I'm afraid there are no shortcuts on this one. We just have to wait. Why don't you go out and see if you can find anything on your own, or better yet, just stop and take a breath, you're getting way too stressed out over this." Fu said, trying to get Jake out of his hair.

"Fine," Jake said, as he walked out.

/

* * *

Jake sat at the skate park with Trixie and Spud.

"I just don't know guys, there has to be something I can do." Jake said.

"Did Rose bring her phone with her?" Spud asked curiously.

"Yeah, I think so. Why?" Jake responded.

Spud reached into his bag and pulled out his laptop. "Well, if Rose has her cellphone, I can tap into the provider's towers and start bouncing signals off them to triangulate her position, and if her phone has GPS, it will tell us exactly where she is."

"Well what are you waiting for, let's try it." Jake said eagerly.

"Now, Rose's phone is on a provider in Hong Kong, so there aren't any nearby towers we can directly use, but we can transfer it through international communication routes, it won't give us an accurate location, but it will at least narrow down our search area." Spud said has he continued to work. "Got it! Rose is somewhere on Staten Island."

"Well come on!" Jake said, "Let's go!"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Trixie started, "Hold up a minute Jakie, even with a narrowed down area, Staten Island is still too big to try and search without any of Fu's magic mumbo-jumbo."

"Come on Trixie!" Jake pleaded, "If the three of us start now, we can have a good amount of the island searched before the sun goes down."

"No way Jake!" Trixie argued, "I've got better things to do with my Saturday than going on a wild goose hunt for your girlfriend."

"Trixie please! Rose could be in serious danger." Jake countered, "I really need your help here."

Trixie thought about it reluctantly, "Oh alright, but you owe me big time Jake, you hear?"

"Yeah, yeah, totally. Now let's get going." Jake said.

* * *

The three made their way to Staten Island, dragon style. They landed on a rooftop to discuss their plan, as Jake laid out a map of the island.

"Ok, We need to find anything that can give us a clue to where Rose is. Spud, you stay here and see if you can get a better lock on that phone's position. I'll fly overhead and see what I can see. Trixie, you start searching on the ground, if you find anything, send me and Spud a shout out, and we will all meet up there and start searching the nearby area. Got it?"

"Totally bro." Spud answered, as he gave Jake a thumbs up.

/

* * *

They spent the next several hours searching the island. They had a large area to cover, with a small chance of finding anything. The only thing they knew for certain, is that Rose's phone was somewhere on the island, and Staten Island was a big place to try and find one phone. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack, which was in haystack, which was in another haystack.

After hours of fruitless effort, Spud was the first one to catch a break. "Guys!" he shouted over the radios Jake had given them. "I've got a tighter lock on the phone, it is somewhere in Long Pond Park, near the southern part of the island!"

"Got it." Jake answered, "We're on our way."


	10. Long Pond Park

Jake and his friends quickly converged on the area. They grouped up in an isolated area where hopefully no one would see Jake in his dragon form.

"Ok same plan guys." Jake said, "Spud, keep trying to get a more exact location, the closer we get, the better trace we get on it. Trixie, ground search, I'll fly over the trees. Also Spud, keep calling Rose, I might be able to hear her ring tone."

"I am totally on it dude." Spud said as he started setting up his laptop.

Jake flapped his wings and took off soaring through the air, as he flew over the trees he kept his eyes on the dirt, looking for the light from Rose's screen, listening for anything that sounded like a cellphone, full of hope.

Trixie ran off into the trees, checking in bushes and tall grass, searching in caves, doubtful of finding anything, yet her friendship made her to loyal to quit.

Spud stayed in the small clearing, working hard to get a better position on the cellphone, calling it non-stop, allowing everyone, including himself, to find it easier. For Spud, it wasn't a matter of if he could get a better trace on it, it was a matter of when.

Jake flew the perimeter of the park twice. "Spud, how is that trace coming?" Jake asked.

"Still working on it bro, I'm trying to track my calls to her phone, but it is taking awhile to find where exactly they are going." Spud answered.

"Stay on it, you have the best chances of finding it." Jake replied.

"Yo Jakie!" Trixie called out, "These caves are seriously rank, how much longer we gotta search?"

"Until we find something Trixie, we are too close to give up now." Jake answered.

"Jake, you thought we were close before we even narrowed it down to this part of New York." Trixie countered.

"But now we are, just a little longer." Jake said.

Jake continued is search, listening intensely with his dragon ears, until Spud got a full trace, this was his best chance of finding the phone. As Jake thought of something he was surprised he hadn't thought of until now.

"Spud," Jake said over the radio, "Has anyone picked up the phone any of the times you have called it?"

"Not one dude," Spud answered, "If someone would answer that phone, it would help me get a better trace on it."

Spud continued working on his laptop, accessing a foreign wireless provider's network to trace a phone on the other side of the world was not as easy as it sounded, yet he was confident in his abilities. Spud enjoyed the challenge, it was nice to try an impossible task every now and then, especially when he'd almost completed it.

Trixie was less enthusiastic about her work, crawling through caves was not her ideal Saturday evening. For some reason, the most irritating thing about the caves she was currently crawling through is not a lot of people even know they are there, not even park employees.

Jake was the most devoted. He wouldn't sleep until he had some answers. He didn't care how long he would have to search, he would, and he would find her, he always did.

Spud finally had the news Jake was waiting to here. "Jake! I've almost got an exact triangulation on Rose's phone. Come back to the clearing."

"On my way." Jake said as he flew towards the clearing.

* * *

Spud laid down the map. "Ok, we are here," he said as he pointed to the clearing on the map, "And you see this large lake north east of us, the phone is somewhere near it."

"Let's go!" Jake shouted as he flew off, not waiting for anyone else.

* * *

Jake started searching the entire area high and low. Flying at some of the fastest speeds he's ever flown. Finally, his search area has been narrowed down to manageable size. Jake flew around the lake multiple times, and then, he heard it.

**[AUTHOR'S NOTE: ALL LOCATIONS IN THE STORY ARE REASONABLY ACCURATE, TO FIND THE CLEARING AND LAKE IN THIS CHAPTER, GO TO GOOGLE MAPS, SEARCH FOR LONG POND PARK, STATEN, NEW YORK, NY. SWITCH IT TO SATELLITE VIEW AND GO LEFT OF WHERE IT SAYS "LONG POND PARK" YOU SHOULD SEE AN OPENING IN THE TREES. THIS IS WHERE SPUD IS FOR MOST OF THE CHAPTER. IF YOU GO UP AND TO THE RIGHT, YOU WILL SEE A LARGE LAKE, THIS IS WHERE JAKE IS SEARCHING.]**


	11. Trail of Footprints

Jake heard the faint sound of music nearby, but it wasn't just any music, it was a tune he was very familiar with.

"Rose." he said, as he dive bombed in the direction of the sound.

This was it, after almost 48 hours of worry and uncertainty, Jake had finally found her. Jake started preparing himself for a fight, he wasn't sure what was keeping Rose from reaching her phone, but whatever it was, it was about to receive a complimentary smack down courtesy of the American Dragon.

"Rose I'm here!" Jake shouted.

He received no reply, just the faint sound of Rose's ring tone.

"Rose?" Jake asked, scanning the area with his dragon eyes, searching for something in the environment that stood out against the rest, but there was nothing. Jake was completely alone by the lake, listening to the sound of a cellphone ringing. Jake switched back to human form and walked over to it, and picked it up. It was Rose's phone, but Rose was nowhere to be found. Jake sat there and starred at the phone, as it rang in his hand. Finally he anwered it.

"Spud, I found the phone, but Rose isn't here. Let's head back to the shop. We've done all we can here for today." Jake said.

Depression dominated his voice. He immediately hung up the phone and slowly walked away, leaving with more questions and fewer answers than when he started searching Staten Island. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the photo of him and Rose from the dance. He carried it around with him all the time. He looked at for a minute, his hope was fading, but he refused to give up. Jake started to drift off from reality, as he list himself in thought, reflecting back on his memories of the time he'd spent with Rose.

He thought about the first time he met Rose, he ran into her when he was riding his skateboard backwards and not paying attention. He met Rose a lot that way. It was always the same, he'd run into her, she'd drop her books, he'd panic, apologize, and start helping her pick up her books, then he'd look up and see who it was.

"Hey." Jake would say.

Rose would always reply, "Hey yourself."

Even after Jake's wish, when Rose had lived a completely different life and had no clue who Jake was, their brief encounter still somehow played out that way. It was almost like...

"Hey Jakie!" the voice sprang out of the radio earpiece Jake was wearing, breaking his thoughts and bringing him back to reality.

"What is it?" Jake responded.

"Are we done here or what? I've got some serious scrubbing to do if I want to get all this dirt outta my hair." Trixie said

"Yeah, for now." Jake replied.

* * *

The three sat in the back of Gramps's shop and looked at the map.

"Ok the airport where Rose's plane landed is right here," Jake said, as he drew an X on the spot, "and we found Rose's phone on Staten Island right here."

Jake drew a second X where he found the phone.

"So that means she was going in this direction." Jake said as he drew a line from X1 to X2.

"Hold on Jakie," Trixie said, "I doubt Rose made a bee line across the water to that spot."

"Right," Jake agreed, as he drew a route along the streets until he made it to Staten Island, but then he ran into a flaw in his plan. "but wait, Long Pond Park doesn't have street routes we can trace, so how are we going to track her?"

"I think I have something that can help." Fu said as he walked into the room, "The potion is finally ready, now here, take it back to where you found Rose's phone, and spray it around the area. It will make all recent footprints glow, so you should be able to see what direction Rose was heading."

"But Fu," Jake said, "I thought the potion wouldn't be ready until tomorrow."

"The original amount would've been." Fu replied, "But with how you've moved the starting point a lot further down Rose's path, that's miles and miles we don't have to try and track, so now we don't need as much potion, and I think the amount we have now will be enough."

"Fu! That's awesome!" Jake said, happy something was actually happening quickly, "Let's get back over there."

* * *

Jake and Fu stood by the water where Jake found the phone.

"Kid, you sure this where you found the phone?" Fu asked.

"Yeah," Jake answered, "I can see my dragon prints over there."

"Ok, start sprinkling the potion around, when you see footprints glowing, start following them." Fu instructed, "The fresher they are, the brighter they will glow, so don't get confused by your own footprints."

"Right, got it." Jake replied, as he uncorked the bottle and started sprinkling it around.

The forest started to light up with footprints. Jake traced his own from earlier that day to the exact location of where he found the phone. Next to the spot, were 2 sets of footprints, old enough that they didn't really glow, but still recent enough that they showed up. At about the spot where Jake found the phone, one set went a little crazy and off balance, like their owner had stumbled and fallen there.

"Fu, I think I found them." Jake called out, "They're going this way!"

Jake took off following the footprints, sprinkling a little more of Fu's potion whenever the trail stopped. The trail continued alongside the lake, slowly making it's way around the perimeter. He was mentally preparing himself for what he may face at the end of the trail. He thought carefully over the events of the last couple of days. Rose had vanished mysteriously, actually scratch that, she vanished suspiciously,Jake had collected more than enough evidence to count the circumstances as suspicious. He found her phone in the woods of a completely different district of New York, one that Rose had no motive that he currently knew of, to even be in, and now he following 2 sets of footprints around a lake in said district.

Jake stopped and looked behind him. He noticed that both trails of footprints were smaller than his own. He wasn't for certain which one belong to Rose, but he could conclude that whoever her captor was, they weren't very large.

Then something happened that left Jake baffled, the trail of footprints stopped, and no matter how much of Fu's potion he sprinkled, no more would appear.


	12. A Forest Path

Rose sat in the darkness. She had no clue where she was, or how exactly she got there, the only thing she knew was the throbbing pain in her head. She had no clue how long she has been here, the room was nothing but complete darkness. She didn't have a clock to look at, and she couldn't see the sun to reference time. She's fallen asleep twice so it could be maybe 2 or 3 days.

Rose hasn't had any form of contact with anyone since she woke up here. It seems that she was dumped here, her hands and feet tied to the chair, and then abandoned. Rose spent hours trying to listen to her surroundings, but has never heard anything, so it is safe to assume she isn't near the main city.

She was clinging to the hope of being found. Dehydration was starting to set in, and Rose wasn't sure how much longer she could last. The training the Huntsman had given her had increased her physical endurance, allowing her to go longer than the average human without any substance. The downside is that training never happened. That was a revelation Rose learned the hard way when she fought the Dark Dragon. Since then she's been training for months to restore her physical condition, but had yet to work on her endurance.

Rose started to drift off again. She wasn't sure why, but everytime she went to sleep, she dreamt of walking through a forest with a girl with long, dark hair. It was weird, in the dream, she wasn't her, just standing off to the side watching herself from outside her body, that someone else was in control of her body, she couldn't control her own movements, no matter how hard she tried. She would try and use her dream charm, but it wouldn't work. They would walk along the forest path for awhile, then they would come up on a lake. They would walk next to water for a little bit, then Rose would fall and drop her phone. Everytime she would get up and leave it. They would continue to walk around the lake, and then she would wake up.

* * *

Jake was sitting in the shop with Fu, trying to figure out why the potion stopped working.

"I don't get it Fu, why did the trail just end?" Jake asked, with his face in his hands.

"I'm not sure kid. The only reason I can think of is they took off and started flying." Fu answered.

"So, what do we do now?" Jake asked him.

"Not sure what we can do." Fu answered him, "We may just have to wait and see what turns up over time."

"Fu that's not good enough!" Jake yelled, frustratation starting to overtake him.

"Well the only way I can think of is if a krylock shows up, and I think we've already gotten as much luck as we will get out of there." Fu replied, "Don't worry kid we'll think of something."

"I sure hope so." Jake said.


	13. A Voice in the Forest

Jake sat at his bedroom window that night confused, and frustrated. He had her, he was so close, and then, it all just vanished without a trace, like arrows in the darkness. He wasn't sure what went wrong. No one was. He couldn't help but think he had missed something. The thought nagged at his mind. There was something there, something in plain sight, yet somehow he missed it. He wasn't sure what it was, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, everything looked pretty normal.

His grandfather's words echoed through his mind.

"Remember young dragon, You will not always be able to rely on your eyes. As the American Dragon, you will face situations where not everything is as it seems."

It was getting late, but Jake jumped up and started heading out the window. He has going to check the area where the trail ended again. There had to be something he missed. People don't just vanish into thin air. Actually there are multiple magical ways they could, but Jake doubted that was the case.

Jake changed into his dragon form and started flying across the night sky, heading towards Long Pond Park on Staten Island. He was going to be spending a lot of time there by the looks of it.

* * *

Jake found the spot relatively easy. He changed back to his human form as he landed. He started surveying the area carefully. Looking carefully for anything that even gave the slightest hint that it didn't belong there. The park was even quieter at night. Away from the noise of the big city, the daytime had been pretty quiet for being in New York, but the night, it was almost like there was nothing within a hundred miles of here. No matter how long Jake stared, he couldn't see anything that looked like it might contain a secret of some sort.

Gramps's voice made its way into Jake's head, "Your eyes cannot be trusted."

Jake shut his eyes, "Nose of the Dragon." Jake said, as his face morphed.

Jake took several deep breaths in, using his stronger dragon nose to try and detect anything that didn't feel like it was in the environment naturally. Something that stood out against all the other overwhelming smells of the forest.

"Identify the exact scent of what you are searching for, and not be distracted by similar scents in your environment." Gramp's voice sprang through his mind.

Jake focused as much as he could but it was no use, nothing in the environment smelled abnormal.

"Ear of the Dragon." Jake said, hoping to have better luck with the sounds.

Even with his enhanced dragon hearing, the forest was still silent. Not even the sound of a leaf dropping could be heard. All was peaceful.

Jake's frustration grew even stronger. There had to be something here, but there wasn't. No matter how deeply he examined the area, there was nothing there. Not one thing Jake could use to figure out where Rose went.

Jake's frustration turned into rage. As he let out a scream of anger, he morphed back into his dragon form and sucker punched a nearby rock with all of his strength, shattering it, and sending a large crashing sound echoing through the entire forest.

* * *

Rose sat there tied to her chair, drifting off. She was starting to break down mentally. The days she'd been here, she hasn't seen or heard anything. It was starting to get to her, she was slowly going insane. She hasn't seen any form of light, just darkness. She hasn't heard a single noise that she didn't make, but then suddenly that changed. She heard a loud crash from not too far away.

"Hello?" she shouted with a hoarse voice, "Is anyone there? Can you hear me? I need help! Please help me!"

* * *

Jake stood there panting. The rock was huge, and shattering it took quite a bit of strength. After the sound of the rock breaking ended, the forest was silent again, but then it wasn't. Jake thought he heard a voice fairly close. He listened in with his dragon ears, focusing hard to try hear it, not sure if it was real or if it was his imagination. He hold absolutely still and put all his attention on listening, and then he heard it.

"Someone help me! Please! Help me!"


	14. You'll be ok

"Rose!" Jake shouted as he started to look around.

He looked at the rock he just smashed and saw underneath it, was an old trap door, with a heavy lock on it. Jake shot a wave of dragon fire at, melting it within seconds. He flung open the door to reveal a concrete tunnel descending into the depths of the earth. Without a moment of fear Jake leaped head first down the tunnel, opening his wings to slow his fall before he reached the ground.

The tunnel was dark and dusty. Jake was enclosed in a small area, surrounded by three walls. The only directions he could go were back up, the way he came, and down a long corridor to his left. He paused for a minute, hovering in the air, trying to decide what to do now, but the decision was made for him.

"Help!" rang through the corridor.

Jake immediately took off flying down the corridor, not sure what waited for him just on the other side of the darkness, but he didn't have time to worry about such things. He would wait until he arrived at the bridge before he tried to cross it.

Jake flew for about 20 yards before the corridor split in 2 directions. Jake started flying down the left one. It was lined with doors. Jake stopped at each door to break down, usually disappointed to find an empty room. He wasn't sure where he was, or when Staten Island had a secret dungeon installed underneath the streets, but he wasn't here for a history lesson. He was going to find Rose, and call it a day. As he continued along the dark corridor, his frustration returned to him when he found it ended in a dead end. Jake immediately started back the way he came, when he found something that terrified him. It was different from when he first came down. The tunnels were changing. It was going to be a maze. It could take him forever to find Rose, but he wasn't going to leave until he did. He knew she was down here, and he wasn't about to let her go.

The new corridor forked off into three directions, none of which looked liked the one he came from. He was just going to have to run around blindly until he got lucky and went the right way. Jake started looking around for a hint, when he noticed some writing on a nearby wall.

It read: _You should have left the minute you came in, but instead you thought it the right thing to do. Thousands have been left to wander these endless tunnels, and now you will join them. You will be left down here, no one will ever find you. No one finds anyone who has been left down here. The Tunnels of the Lost are never the right place for you to go. I guess coming down here wasn't the right decision after all. However your quest is not impossible. All you have to do, is get pointed in the right direction._

Jake stood there confused, he hated riddles. Whatever this writing was, it was the only thing he had to go on, so he'd better figure out what it means, and fast. Suddenly, as he read the message over and over again, some words started to stand out to him.

_Left, right, left, left, left, right, right, right._

It sounded kind of crazy, but Jake had nothing else to go on. So he started off down the left tunnel. After a short distance, it split again. This time Jake went right, and continued to follow the directions the message gave him at each split until he came to the last split. Jake followed it to the right. He followed it for a long time, when it finally ended. In front of Jake were 3 doors, and another message.

This one read: _So it would seem you can listen to directions. The one you seek is on the other side of one of these doors. Choose carefully. If you pick the correct door, you both will be allowed to leave. Choose incorrectly, and the cycle will start itself all over again._

Jake studied the doors carefully. From the sound of things, he would only get one shot at this. As he examined the doors, he noticed they each had a different marking on them. The first door had a carving of a flower. The second door had a strange symbol Jake had never seen before. The third had a Huntsclan logo on it. Jake looked behind him and noticed the corridor had changed. At the end of it, were a couple of black, iron doors. Jake decided to disregard them. With no clues on which door Rose may be behind, Jake took the best guess he could, and opened the door with the flower on it.

The door opened up into a large, empty room. Except it wasn't empty. In the middle of the room was an old wooden chair, and in that chair, with her ankles tied to the chair legs and her hands tied behind her back, was Rose.

Jake quickly went over to her and used his dragon claws to slice straight through the rope at her ankles and then at her hands. Rose stood up, extremely off balance. She looked at him.

"Jake?" she muttered, before she passed out.

Jake caught her as she started to fall.

"It's ok Rose, I'm here." Jake said, "You'll be ok. I promise. You'll be ok."


	15. The Power of Magic

Jake sat in his grandpa's shop, waiting. Rose was laying on the couch in the back, she hadn't woken up yet. Fu was examining her.

"Well, she's in bad shape, but I think she's gonna be fine. Just needs a little water and some rest." he said.

"Good, now to find the punk who grabbed her." Jake said.

"Patience Jake," Gramps responded, "We don't know what we are up against. It is best to wait until Rose wakes up, and see what she can tell us."

"But G.!" Jake protested, "What if they come back for her?"

"She will be safe here under our protection Jake." his grandfather told him, "I understand your concern, but you must, as you say, chill. In the meantime, we can cover what we know."

"Fine G." Jake replied. For once he understood.

"Now, Rose was kidnapped at the airport, and taken to Staten Island." Gramps recalled, "It is still possible that it is a regular person targeting foreign exchange students."

"If it is, he just picked the wrong one to mess with." Jake threatened, "When I find him I'll..."

"Hold on Jake, we mustn't assume too much too quickly." Gramps warned, "All cameras in the area stopped whenever our kidnapper would have been in view of them, so it may be a magical opponent we are facing. Where was it you said you found Rose?"

"Some hidden tunnels under the park, I could've sworn they kept changing on me." Jake answered him.

"The Tunnels of the Lost." Fu piped in, as he opened a magical book about them, "The perfect place to put someone if you don't want them to be ever be found. The tunnels are constantly changing, the only way to make it out of them is to solve the puzzles. Most people end up wandering them for the rest of eternity."

"So whoever the kidnapper is, they are indeed magic." Gramps concluded.

"They must've been the ones using the charm that prevented me from entering Rose's dreams." Jake said with a sudden realization.

"It is possible we are facing a wizard." Gramps told him, "You must be careful Jake. I am sure you have learned from your battles with Pandaris that wizards are very dangerous, even the weakest of them can be very tricky to battle."

"Don't sweat it G. The Am Drag isn't so easy to fight with either." Jake said.

"Just don't let yourself be fooled kid." Fu said, "The thing about magic is it isn't easy to predict. Most people assume it is some ultimate, power force that can't be beaten, but most of it isn't as powerful or flawless as some people think. They just assume because it's magic, it is the most powerful force you'll ever see, and it can do anything you can imagine, but it has its flaws."

"A sorcerer will try and use that deception against you Jake." Gramps informed him, "Do not forget that a dragon is the most powerful magical creature, thus why we are the decided guardians of the magical world."

"Remember kid, magic is a lot of smoke and mirrors." Fu concluded.

"However," Gramps countered, "some of it isn't. There is some magic that is very powerful, and lives up to what everyone thinks it is. It can be very dangerous. Be sure to use your best judgment in battle, remember your training, and if I can, I will be there to assist you."

"Thanks G." Jake replied.

"As I said before, we owe Rose a debt of gratitude." Gramps told him, "I would be honored to join you in this battle."


	16. The Threads of a Shirt

Jake sat next to Rose all night. Refusing to leave her side until she woke up. He drifted off a little here and there, and got some light rest, but he never fully went to sleep. If he had his dream charm, he would've checked if the charm was still blocking him out of Rose's dreams, but he didn't.

Rose, on the other hand, was getting plenty of sleep. She continued having the same strange dream she's been having for the last couple of days; walking along the same forest path with the same brown-haired girl. It always happened the same, they would walk for awhile, then Rose would trip and fall. Every time Rose's phone would fall out of her pocket and get left. The girl would grab her by the arm and pull her back up.

"Come on, let's go!" she would always say, a little coldly.

Rose didn't know how to interpret the dream. She could never control her own body, but the dream felt so real, like it wasn't a dream. She was about to the part where she would always wake up, but this time she didn't. This time, the dream continued. After walking an unknown distance along the water of the lake, they stopped. The girl pulled a long stick out of her pocket and started speaking in a language Rose wasn't familiar with. Suddenly a large boulder near by moved to reveal a hidden trapdoor. The girl opened it and pushed Rose down a long, concrete shaft. Rose woke up before she hit the bottom.

The sun had risen in a vibrant orange, lighting up the eastern sky. Rose opened her eyes slowly, her head still a little foggy. She started surveying her environment, it had changed from what she could last remember. As she looked around, it occurred to her she was someplace familiar. She turned her head slightly and saw Jake sitting next to her, fast asleep. She reached over and grabbed his hand. Jake suddenly sprang to awake with an alarm, but calmed down instantly when saw what it was.

"Rose." he said softly, with a smile. For the first time this weekend, Jake was truly happy and relaxed.

Obviously, they would both need to sit down and try to figure out what exactly happened and who was responsible, but that could wait. Right now, none of it mattered. They both stood up and embraced each other tightly, finally reunited.

"You're ok." Jake finally said.

"Of course I am," Rose replied, "You promised."

They stood there for what could have been an eternity, when finally Fu walked in.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Look who's finally awake." Fu said as he walked through the curtain that separated the front from the back.

* * *

Rose sat next to Jake on the couch in the front of the shop. Across the coffee table from them were Gramps and Fu. Gramps poured everyone a glass of tea he just made.

"So, you have no memory of how you came to be in the dark room?" Gramps asked, as he held his tea cup.

Rose took a sip from hers. "No," she answered, "The last thing I can remember is getting off the airplane, then feeling a little drowsy. The next thing I know, I'm tied to a chair in a quiet, dark room. I'm not sure how long I was there. I couldn't see anything in the darkness, so I just sat there until Jake found me."

"I see," Gramps said, "Now, tell me more about this dream you keep having."

"Well, I'm walking through this forest, except it doesn't feel like I'm me, it feels like someone else is in control of me." Rose explained, "I'm walking with this girl who has long, brown hair, and a blue dress. We approach a lake and start to walk alongside the water, when I trip and fall, and lose my phone."

"Oh, that reminds me." Jake said as he set down his tea cup and reached into his pocket, "This is yours." Jake pulled out Rose's phone and handed it to her.

Rose opened it and then looked at Jake strangely, "357 missed calls?"

Jake got a little embarrassed, "Well, you see... we were trying to trace it and..."

Rose rolled her eyes, "Sure you were. Anyways we continue to walk by the water a bit farther when she pulls a long stick out of her pocket, and starts saying these words in some language I've never heard before. Pretty soon a near by rock moves to reveal a trapdoor, she opens it and pushes me down a long, concrete shaft. I woke up before I made it to the bottom."

"Yep, sounds like a forgotten dream to me." Fu said.

"Forgotten dream?" Jake asked.

"It's a dream of a memory that has been hidden from your conscious mind." Rose explained, "When you live something, but you're not fully conscious for it, your sub-conscience will bring the memory back to you in the form of dreams."

"They are commonly experienced by people who have been hypnotized or placed under a mind control spell." Fu concluded.

"Rose, you must work hard to remember everything you can about the girl in your dream, it is likely she is your kidnapper." Gramps told her.

"I've already told you everything I can," Rose said as she looked down at her cup, "I don't think I've ever seen her before."

"Try to think of why anyone would want you never found again." Gramps urged.

"I'm not sure." Rose answered, "My life as Huntsgirl never happened. Technically I'm just an average teenaged girl."

"Well maybe not," Fu said, "We never fully understood the Aztec Skulls. The legend claimed them to be all powerful, but that was kind of blown out of the water when Jake restored your memory. We don't know if there were any consequences for that action. You really shouldn't have memories from a life you never lived."

"But I did live it." Rose said.

"Well... Technically you did," Fu tried to explain, "but Jake wished you were never taken by the Huntsclan, which changed history. If you go back and check the history books, it never happened. Which kind of gets on to my point. Even though you didn't live that life, you have memory of it. Which means part of the magic has been undone, and if part of it can be undone, who knows what other parts of it can be undone."

"Magic is like a shirt," Gramps said, "if one thread becomes weak and gets pulled, other threads will soon follow."

**[AUTHOR'S NOTE: SORRY IF I OVER EXPLAINED THINGS IN THE DIALOUGE BETWEEN ROSE AND FU, I KNOW AT TIMES IT WAS REDUNDANT AND WAS JUST A RE-WORD OF A PREVIOUS SAID SENTENCE, BUT I DON'T WANT THERE TO BE ANY CONFUSION, AND SOMETIMES WHEN YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND SOMETHING, ALL YOU NEED IS TO HAVE IT WORDED DIFFERENTLY]**


	17. A Few Days Later

Jake spent the next few days searching all over the city for the mysterious sorcerer, but was unable to find any leads. He talked to anyone who may know something, called in a couple favors, but nothing. The wizard just disappeared into thin air.

As the sun rose on a clean Wednesday morning. Jake's morning was just like any other. He got up, got ready, and was on his way to school on his skateboard with Trixie and Spud.

"Yo Jackie!" Trixie called out, "Where were you last night? You missed movie night, Spud screamed like a baby!"

"I was keeping watch over Rose's apartment." Jake answered.

"And does Miss Ninja know you're keeping an eye on her?" Trixie criticized.

"So far she is my only chance of finding this sorcerer, if she ever comes back for Rose, I'll have her." Jake said, "Besides, it's extra protection. I don't want to risk her getting taken again."

"Jake, I think Rose can take care of herself." Trixie said.

"I know she can, but Gramps always says you can never be too careful." Jake told her.

"Just be careful, ok?" Trixie said.

"I will." Jake replied.

* * *

Jake sat in the back of Rotwood's class, trying to avoid attention. The high school mythology class was just as bad as it was in middle school. Full of incorrect information coming from a guy who knew a lot less than he believed he did. Sometimes the words Rotwood said were so incorrect, it was almost enough to make Jake bang his head on his desk, and reveal the existence of magical creatures just so he could get the people in this room some actual facts. Almost, but not quite.

Today's lesson was extremely nerve-racking for Jake. Today Rotwood was giving "scientific facts" on dragons. For everything he said that was correct, he said about 40 things that weren't. Finally, the inevitable happened. Rotwood decided to get Jake involved in the class.

"So, Mr. Long, perhaps you would like to share with the class a list of all the weak points on a dragon."

Jake thought it was a joke. Did he honestly expect Jake to tell him that. "I have no idea."

Rotwood raised his eyebrow. "Really? Not one."

"Nope!" Jake said, "This head is an idea free zone. Like if you wanted to go in my head and buy an idea, when you got to the register, they'd tell you hey it's free dawg!"

"I see." Rotwood said, "Class, I present to you, Jake Long, the boy who never has a single idea."

The entire class started laughing. Jake remembered exactly why Rotwood was never his favorite teacher. It was going to be a long year. Before Jake could think up a clever comeback, the bell rang.

"Class dismissed!" Rotwood yelled.

Jake sat in the back so he was one of the last ones out of the room.

"You know it is a shame, Mr. Long." Rotwood said from his desk, "I was really looking forward to some insightful views from an actual dragon."

"Man you've got to be trippin' if you think I'm about to reveal to you all of my weak spots." Jake replied.

"Calm down Mr. Long," Rotwood said, "I am a studier of dragons, not a slayer. All my questions are purely academic. I am a scholar, not a barbarian."

"Yeah well, you better do your studying somewhere else." Jake said as he walked out the room.

* * *

Jake was on his way to meet Rose for lunch. Although the danger she was in still haunted Jake's mind, he was also pretty happy. He was finally getting the relationship he always dreamed of with Rose. No lies or secrets like when they first started dating. No worries of the Huntsman like the second time they went out. Rose was back again, and this time, there wouldn't be some big, magical, Huntsclan related epidemic that would separate them for months. The third time was going to be the charm.

On his way, Jake ran into Spud and Trixie.

"Hey guys, what up?" Jake asked.

"Jake," Trixie started, "Spud here's been thinking, and we might have a lead on the mystery sorcerer you're looking for."

"Lay it on me." Jake said.

"Ok dude, so you know how we're searching for a wizard, so why not ask someone from the magical world?" Spud explained.

"I've already tried that Spud," Jake answered, "No one I've talked to knows anything. Not even Fu has been able to dig up any information from the shady characters he hangs out with."

"You know dude, you haven't talked to everyone who might know something about a wizard in New York." Spud said.

Jake thought for a minute, then he finally realized who Spud was referring to.

"Nigel Thrall!" Jake exclaimed.


	18. Nigel Thrall

**[AUTHOR'S NOTE: ENCASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, IT IS TAKING ME LONGER TO WRITE AND PUBLISH CHAPTERS NOW, I HAVE SCHOOL 7-3, THEN WORK FROM USUALLY 6-8. FACTOR IN HOMEWORK AND MAKING VIDEOS FOR 2 YOUTUBE CHANNELS, REALLY NARROWS HOW MUCH TIME I HAVE TO WRITE.]**

Jake, Spud, and Trixie set out to find Nigel. It didn't take long, they found himl alone just outside the cafeteria.

"Nigel!" Jake called to him.

"Ah, hello Long. Enjoying your year?" Nigel replied casually.

"I need some information on a wizard somewhere in the city." Jake said.

Nigel closed his eyes and sighed, "I forgot small chat was wasted on you Long." He stopped and thought for a minute, "I'm afraid I can't help you. Unlike you dragons, we sorcerers don't keep close tabs on each other, we mind our own business, and let everyone else carry out theirs."

"You must know something." Jake insisted.

"Like I said," Nigel persisted, "Sorcerers aren't like dragons, we don't have a world counsel in charge of every sorcerer in the world, we don't meet up every thousand years in a sorcerer temple for a mandatory cheers, we don't have anything to do with each other."

"Surely you got some way of ringing each other up." Trixie said.

"Yeah dude, don't you have, like, some sort of magical telephone you can call each other with?" Spud asked.

"There are ways to get in contact with each other," Nigel informed them, "but they only work if the other sorcerer wants to be contacted. Which if the American Dragon is looking for him, I doubt he wants to be found."

"Just tell us everything you know about all the wizards in the area." Jake said, losing his patience.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Long." Nigel said, also beginning to lose his patience, "I don't know anything about the sorcerers in New York City. For all I know, I could be the only one, or every 3rd person I pass on the street could be one. I... Don't... Know..."

Jake started walking away. He'd wasted enough of his time here.

"I'll see what I can do, chap," Nigel said, "but I wouldn't pin your entire dependence on it."

Jake kept walking. Nigel may not have known very much, but there was someone Jake was certain would know something.

Jake turned back to Nigel, "Do you at least know where Pandarus is?" Jake asked.

Nigel shrugged, "Well, he is currently in between plots to take over the world right now, so he won't be in hiding. You'll probably be able to find him in Pandarus Towers right here in Manhattan." He answered.

Jake was relieved by that, Eli Pandarus wasn't always the easiest man to find, but if there is a wizard stirring up trouble in anywhere in the world, he was either behind it, or knew about it.

"If Pandarus is in New York, he has to know something. Thanks Nigel." Jake said as he started to walk away again.

"Careful Long," Nigel quickly warned, "Just because Pandarus is an evil sorcerer, doesn't guarantee he knows about another evil sorcerer in the city. You might be getting yourself into trouble for nothing."

"You let me worry about that." Jake replied.


	19. Eli Pandarus

Jake, Spud, and Trixie gathered in an alley behind Pandarus Towers. Getting set up to form a plan on how to sneak in undetected.

Spud opened his laptop, "Alright, I hacked in to the building's security systems, and I can take down any alarms and motion sensors we encounter. I've also tapped into the security cameras, and it looks like Pandarus is currently in his office on the 16th floor, west side of the building."

"Jakey, you sure Pandarus is going to know anything?" Trixie asked.

"Are you kidding? He's probably the punk behind all this." Jake said, as he looked at the window of Pandarus's office.

Spud continued with the plan, "There are air vents underneath the floor that run all throughout the building. We can access them from an outer vent about 10 feet off the ground just around that corner. I think our best option to enter undetected will be too..."

"Don't worry about it Spud," Jake interrupted, "There's no need to do this quietly." Jake said as he opened his wings and started flying upwards towards the window that would lead to Pandarus's office.

Jake flew up pass the window, and continued upwards for a couple more stories. Then he looped backwards, shut his wings, and started dive bombing at the window. He smashed right through it with no trouble and landed on his feet in a fighting stance, ready for any upcoming attack. He did a quick survey of the room and saw it empty except for Pandarus, who was sitting at a large, oak desk, facing Jake.

"Ah, the American Dragon!" Pandarus said, "You know, I have a door." Pandarus raised his hand, gesturing to the door at the far right side of the room.

Jake didn't take his eyes off him. He wasn't going to make a sneak attack too easy for Pandarus."

Pandarus looked at a calender on his desk, "You know you're early, my next plot to takeover the world isn't scheduled to begin for a couple more months. Tell me, what can I do for you, before security shows up to throw you out." He said.

"You're going to tell me what I need to know," Jake explained, "and you're going to do it now."

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you'll have to schedule an appointment with my secretary for that." Pandarus replied. "So, how is the whole 'magical-world-protector' gig going?"

"I'm not playing games, Eli, start talking!" Jake warned.

Pandarus sighed, "I forgot small talk is wasted on you."

Jake remained unfazed, "Now!"

"You haven't even told me what you wanted to know about." Pandarus told him.

"There's a wizard somewhere here in the city causing trouble, tell me where I can find them." Jake said, with an edge in his tone.

"You know, a little please never hurt anyone." Pandarus said, "but unfortunately for you, I have."

In a quick movement Pandarus jumped up on his desk with his wands in his hands. "I think it is time you learned some manners."

Pandarus shot a blast of energy at where Jake was standing. Almost catching Jake's tail as he leaped out of the way. Jake replied with his own blast of dragon fire, to which Pandarus gave a quick swipe of his hand and brushed away.

"You know, I know exactly who you want to know about, American Dragon! Sadly, I'm not going to tell you anything! It's sort of a professional courtesy among evil wizards!" Pandarus yelled out to Jake. "I would love to stay and chat, but I have more important matters to attend to! Another time!"

Pandarus suddenly vanished into thin air, without a trace. Jake was left standing alone in the office. Frustration was starting to become his best friend. Spud and Trixie suddenly burst through a vent in the floor, landing in a fighting stance that was almost identical to the one Jake landed in when he broke through the window.

Trixie took a quick look around the room and realized Jake was the only one in there. "Jake! Are you crazy! You could've been in some serious trouble." She criticized.

Jake just brushed it off. "Come on, let's get out of here."


	20. History Repeating Itself

**[AUTHOR'S NOTE: HAVE WRITTEN IN AWHILE, AS SAID BEFORE I'VE BEEN GETTING SLAMMED WITH WORK AND SCHOOL. IT ISN'T JUST THIS, THE YOUTUBE CHANNELS HAVE BEEN NEGLETED TOO. SPEAKING OF WHICH, A NEW VIDEO WILL BE UP ON THE AMERICAN DRAGON CHANNEL SOON]**

Jake quickly made his way back to school. He'd been too busy chasing down wizards that he forgot all about his lunch date with Rose. Hopefully, she would understand. He found her still waiting in their pre-determined meeting spot.

"Jake!" she said as soon as she saw him, "What took you so long? I've been waiting for almost 30 minutes, our lunch hour ends soon."

"I'm sorry." Jake answered, "I was chasing down leads on our mysterious sorcerer."

That was a topic Rose wanted to talk about. "Look, I know you've been keeping an eye on me, but you need to cut it out. Focus on your dragon duties, I'll be fine."

Jake wasn't too sure of that. "Rose I just..."

"Listen," Rose interrupted, "They probably know you are watching me, so there is no way they'll make a move while your doing it. Your basically wasting your time. You won't catch them this way."

"I'm not wasting my time," Jake insisted, "If they won't try anything while I'm watching, then they will as soon as I'm not. Which means it's very important I stay close."

"Jake, I can take care of myself." Rose told him.

"Are you sure? They've already gotten you once. What if this time I don't find you? What if..." Jake couldn't finish his sentence, it was something he didn't want to even think about. He couldn't even think about it.

"This isn't open for negotiation, Jake." Rose insisted, before walking away.

Jake was left standing alone in the hall, full of uncertainty. He didn't care what Rose thought, he wasn't about to let anything happen to her.

Jake was lost in his thoughts when there was a sudden flash of light, and a scream.

"Rose!" he shouted.

Jake ran around the corner Rose had walked around a mere second before, and felt his heart rise to his throat when he saw it was empty. This was exactly what he was afraid of. He'd let his guard down for a second. Just one second of him being careless, and Rose was gone.

Jake looked down at the ground, "Aww maan!"


	21. Voices

Jake was paralyzed with fear. He wasn't sure what to do. He thought about making a dash to the shop and asking Gramps, if anyone would know what to do, it would be him. However Jake didn't think he had that kind of time. Every second he wasted decreased his chance of finding Rose again. Whatever he was going to do, he would have to do it on his own, Gramps couldn't hold his hand forever.

Although Jake's independence has grown over the last 2 years, the majority of tasks he's completed on his own were only small ones. All of his major fights, like his last encounter with the Dark Dragon and his final battle with the Huntsclan, were won with the aid of his friends, family, and other allies. The majority of the time, Jake was rash, and strong-headed. It was very rare for him to remember he was still a dragon-in-training. This time was different. He was fully aware that he was still a student, and it scared him.

As badly as he wanted the aid of his mentor, he would lose too much time in trying to get it. He needed to get moving, the only problem being he had no clue where he needed to get moving to. He had to think fast.

As Jake tried to get his thoughts together, a voice went echoing through his mind, scattering them again.

_"You'll never find her."_

Jake was stunned. That voice, it was familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He'd heard it before, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember where. It was a female voice, and Jake was certain it belonged to the wizard he's spent the last couple of days searching for.

Jake looked around, trying to verify that the voice was only in his head, and not in the hallway. He spoke out loud, "Who are you?"

_"You've forgotten me already? I'm not surprised. I didn't think it would take long, but don't worry, we'll be together soon."_

Jake was starting to get a headache, he wasn't used to hearing voices in his head that weren't his own. He wasn't too fond of the intrusion from the outside source. In the turn of a second, a mild headache became a skull-splitting agony, as a thousand voices flooded into his mind, each one getting louder by the second. Jake let out a cry of agony, and fell to the ground as he clutched the sides of his head.

Among the noisy chaos, Jake heard a voice that he knew, without a doubt, was coming from the hallway and not his head. He wasn't sure what it said, but whoever it belonged to recognized Jake was in trouble. The next words the voice spoke stood out against all the voices Jake heard in his mind.

"3 bears in a bed, clear the voices from his head!"

With a flash of light, everything went silent. Jake let out a long, slow, sigh of relief.

"Are you alright Long?" Jake heard, as he looked up to see Nigel standing above him

"Man, I thought she'd never shut up." Jake replied, rubbing his forehead as Nigel helped him up.

"Intrusions in your head can be quite nasty," Nigel said, "maybe if you ask nicely, I'll teach you how to block them out someday."

"Not now," Jake said, "I've got to find the sorcerer."

"Just what I was coming to talk to you about," Nigel said with a smile, "I think I know where we can find your magical troublemaker."

"Great!" Jake replied, happy to finally have a location. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, "I better call Gramps and have him..."

"No need, I've already sent out a messenger spell, your grandfather, sister, and a couple of your other allies will meet us there." Nigel informed him.

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Jake said. He was actually starting to like Nigel.

"This way then." Nigel said as he started for a nearby exit.

Jake took off following him, happy that he wouldn't be doing this on his own after all.


	22. The Warehouse

Jake followed Nigel through a crowded New York street, staying right on his heels to ensure he didn't lose him.

"Hurry Long, this way." Nigel urged him.

"I don't get it, where are we going?" Jake asked him.

"I believe your sorcerer friend is in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. It isn't much farther, come along now." Nigel answered.

"I thought you said it was almost impossible for wizards to find each other." Jake recalled.

"I've told you a thousand times Long, I prefer the term sorcerer," Nigel corrected, "and It isn't impossible, it is just hard unless the other sorcerer is willing to be contacted by nearby sorcerers, which it turns out, this one was."

"So who is it?" Jake asked.

"I'm not sure," Nigel answered, "I wasn't able to collect a name, just a location. Whoever she is, she isn't very good at hiding, I suspect she is still a beginner who has not gotten very far in her training yet. On the downside, it is very likely she knows I traced her, so be on your toes, she'll be expecting us."

Nigel and Jake didn't say another word to each other for the majority of the rest of the way. As they started getting close to the warehouse, Jake finally broke the silence with another question.

"So, who all did you contact?" Jake asked.

"Just an assorted variety of your various allies." Nigel answered, "Plenty enough to give you reasonable chances in this fight. You'll see when we get there."

It wasn't much longer until they reached warehouse, and Jake saw the group of friends that had come to his aid. It wasn't what he was expecting. The only people there were Gramps, Fu, Haley and Sun, nowhere near the army he was expecting.

"Nigel," Jake said, "I thought you said you contacted a bunch of my allies."

"Sorry Long, but I'm not incredibly familiar with who your chaps are. I just sent out a message to all dragons in the area and figured that would do it." Nigel responded, "As I said before, I don't think we are going up against a master sorcerer, so you won't be needing an entire army. In fact I would wager I could take her by myself."

"Not a chance, she's made it personal, I plan on personally dishing out some Am Drag payback." Jake said.

Gramps got a concerned look on his face, "Jake, I have told you many times not to let your personal feelings get in the way of your dragon duties. Do not let your anger or your feelings for Rose cloud your judgment. Even the young snake can snatch unfocused mice. Do not let yourself become distracted."

"Listen to your grandfather's warning Jake," Sun added, "Remain calm, and keep a level head, you must be able to out think your opponent if you plan for victory."

"I'll keep that in mind," Jake muttered, "Now come on, we're wasting time."

Jake led the group to the door. As he approached it, he made an attempt to turn the nob, but found the door to be locked. He peeked through a small window on the door, and saw that not only was it locked, but it was also boarded shut. Jake surveyed the building and noticed all of the windows were boarded over as well.

Sun started to speak, "This must not be the way in, let's start looking around for another..."

Before she could finish her idea, Jake dragoned up and quickly bashed the door off its hinges, sending a couple of wood splinters from the door frame flying in the process. He turned back to his human form and took a couple of steps in.

As he looked around, he saw the warehouse was dark, and dusty. It didn't look like anyone had been in there in years.

Jake turned to Nigel, "Are you sure this is the place?"

"Certain." Nigel answered, "There must be some secret in here somewhere. Best have a look around."

The group split up and started searching the warehouse. Other than a few old boxes, there didn't appear to be much too it, however it was big, and the chances of there being a secret somewhere were great

"I don't think there is anything here." Haley said, "It seems to be just an old warehouse."

"Keep looking." Jake replied, "There has to be something here."

Jake wasn't going to give up easy, he just found his first lead to finding this mysterious wizard, it wasn't a very solid lead, but it was still the most he's come up with all week.

Jake walked along the wall, feeling it for any secret panels that may be hiding there. Jake slowly took one step after another, when he heard one step that sounded different from the rest. He took another, and received the same sound. As he took another, it sounded like the rest of the steps. He took a couple of steps back, and listened to the 2. They sounded... hollow.

"Hey! I think I found something," Jake called out.

As the group gathered around, he walked back over the area so they could hear the difference in the sounds.

Nigel pulled out his wand, "Allow me," he said, as he started into a spell, "Secrets hidden no more, reveal the floor."

To the surprise of everyone, nothing happened.

Nigel raised his wand again, "Secrets hidden no more, reveal the floor."

This time the section of the floor Jake had been walking across started caving in on itself, section by section, eventually forming a spiral staircase that led down below the warehouse.

"After you then." Nigel said, rather pleased with himself for successfully performing the spell.

The group walked down the staircase, going further and further below the warehouse. At the bottom, they entered into a large, empty room with candles lit along the walls. The room had a very high ceiling, and no windows or doors. The room was a perfect square, being 50 yards long and 50 yards wide, and it was made entirely of stone. As the group walked to the center of the room, they all received a bad feeling.

Haley looked around, "I don't want to point out the obvious, but I think we just walked right into a..."

Before she could finish, a large stone barricade identical to the wall slid down in front of the door they just entered from, sealing it shut.

"A trap." Jake finished, as the group took up a defensive stance in the shape of a circle.

The location where the door was could no longer be seen, it was just a large, stone wall identical to the other 3. As the group carefully examined the room, all of the candles that were providing light went out simultaneously. They came back on in perfect synchronization a moment later to reveal the room was now full of ogres. At the far end of the room, stood a wizard with long, dark hair.

Jake froze in terror, his heart skipped a beat, and he lost all his breath when he saw who it was.


	23. A Wizard with Long, Dark Hair

Jake wasn't willing to believe his eyes. It had to be a trick somehow. There was no possible way the wizard standing at the far end of the room was who it looked like.

"Hello Jake." she said.

Jake could hardly speak in his disbelief, yet he still manage to utter one word. "Danika? You're the wizard!" Jake shouted with surprise.

"Please Jake," Danika replied, "Wizard is a term for goody-two-shoes. I prefer witch."

Jake was still in shock, "I... I don't understand."

"Understand what?" Danika asked him, "How you aren't the only person in New York with magical powers, or that the person you've spent the last couple of days searching for was someone close to you this entire time?"

"I don't understand why." Jake answered.

"The answer is simple, Jake. Rose needed to disappear." she replied.

"But why?" Jake persisted.

"Because we were meant for each other, Jake." Danika answered, "I couldn't allow her to just walk in and steal you away, so I made sure to personally greet her at the airport. Sorry about hitting you in the head, but I couldn't have you interfering."

Jake thought back to that evening. He recalled his battle with the trolls, he recalled how he'd been hit from behind, and how he'd never been able to figure out who hit him.

"Of course, it all makes sense now." Jake said, "You were the only person in the street before I entered the alley. I suspected you had followed me, but never really thought about it."

"I just needed a distraction so I could beat you to the airport, however I didn't plan on you defeating my trolls so easily, so I had to take matters into my own hands." Danika said, "You know things didn't have to go this way. Rose could've disappeared without a trace, but instead you just had to find her."

"I'll always find her!" Jake replied.

Danika gave a smirk, "not this time."

Danika snapped her fingers, and all the ogres in the room started to encircle the group.

"I'm going to give you one chance to walk away." Jake warned.

"Funny, I was about to offer you the same opportunity." Danika replied.

"Walk away, Danika." Jake said with anger in his voice.

"No thanks, I'm fine." Danika replied.

Jake changed into his dragon form, "That wasn't a suggestion."

Gramps, Sun, and Haley shifted to their dragon forms, while Nigel reached for his wand, and Fu rolled up the wrinkles on his arms.

"You don't want to do this, Jake." Danika said.

"I know exactly what I want to do." Jake replied.

Danika just shrugged, as the army of ogres started to charge at the group. Jake did a quick tail whip that caught one on the side of the head and sent him flying across the room, while Gramps knocked another one down with a flying kick. Sun and Haley performed some spinning, tag team move Jake could only assume they'd practiced a thousand times. Although it looked funny, it succeeded in knocking down 5 ogres. Nigel seemed to be having a little trouble, as he started to get swarmed by ogres. Jake gave a fire blast to one that was about to hit him from behind. Nigel wasn't using any actual spells, he was shooting bursts of energy out of his wand.

Jake turned his attention to Danika. He studied her, trying to determine what attack she wouldn't be able to counter. He decided to try a quick fire ball. Danika waved her wand, and created an energy wall that caused the fire to disappear the second it touched it. Jake decided he was going to have to get up close to launch a successful attack. He opened his wings, and flew up high, then started to dive bomb her. Just before Jake would have hit her dead on, she teleported out of the way, causing Jake to smash into the concrete floor.

"You don't have to fight me, Jake." Danika said as Jake started to pick himself up off the floor, "You deserve so much better than her. You deserve someone magical, not some foolish mortal."

"There's more to her! You can't judge someone on whether or not they're in a certain group." Jake shot back.

"But we could be a power couple." Danika insisted, "You're still in training, yet you are already one of the greatest dragons alive, and I will soon be the most powerful witch this world has ever seen, together we could rule over all. The magical and mortal world! Just you and me."

"You know you aren't the first person to offer me that opportunity." Jake said, "The last guy who gave me that offer got trapped in an alternate dimension for the next 1 thousand years."

Jake launched another fire ball at Danika, followed by 3 smaller ones. He was hoping that she would only see the large one, and remove her energy field after it hit, allowing the other 3 to reach their target. Just as Jake planned, she put up an energy field to block the fire, but to Jake's disappointment, she blocked all the fire before she took it down.

"Such a beautiful story, a dragon and a dragon-slayer falling in love, do you honestly expect it to have a happy ending?" Danika said.

"It's going to have a happier ending than the story of me opening a can of smack daddy on you." Jake replied.

Jake had determined that it didn't matter what he tried, his fire was going to work, so he tried another physical attack. This time, he was going to try multiple attacks and a fast speed, hoping one of them would be quick enough it would make contact with Danika before she could teleport. He started into a series of quick kicks and jabs, each one only catching air as Danika teleported out of the way of each one. After a few moments Jake stopped, not willing to waste all of his energy on a tactic he was certain would be unsuccessful. If he was going to defeat her, he was going to have to out think her. Come up with something she wouldn't expect.

"Just give up, Jake." Danika said, "You're never going to defeat me."

Jake didn't waste the time to dignify her with a response. Instead, he focused his energy, and created 2 doppelgangers. They triangulated around her. One shot fire, while Jake and the other doppelganger moved in for an attack. This strategy proved to be more successful. Danika wasn't experienced enough to counter all 3 attacks. She was able to block the fire with an energy field, but because her focused was divided on doing that, she was unable to teleport fast enough to avoid the attacks from 2 attackers. As soon as Jake landed a punch, she let out a scream, and the break in her focus caused her energy field to drop, allowing her to catch a fire ball, sending her falling to the floor. Jake quickly grabbed her wand before she could get back up. As Jake reabsorbed his doubles, he turned to see the rest of the group was just finishing battling the ogres. Only one still stood, and a quick blow from Gramps left him on the ground, unconscious like the other ogres.

Jake walked over and grabbed Danika. "Alright, now you have some talking to do."


	24. The Aztec Skulls

Jake looked right into Danika's eyes, "Alright, first question. Where's Rose?"

Danika started to chuckle and shake her head, "Rose, Rose. Why is it nothing but Rose with you? Do you ever talk about anything else? How come you don't want to spend time with me?"

Anger flooded Jake, "Losing my patience." He warned.

Nigel stood behind him, "As if you ever had any to begin with," he said, slightly mocking Jake.

Jake turned around, "Can it, Nigel!" He shouted, as he turned his attention back to Danika, "Now where is she?"

"Don't worry, Jake. I'm sure your little dragon slayer is around here somewhere." Danika answered.

That wasn't the answer Jake wanted to hear, but before he pressed the issue further, there was something in Danika's answer that stood out to him, something that shouldn't have been there.

"How do you know Rose was a dragon slayer?" Jake asked.

"Because I knew Rose before you made your wish." Danika replied.

Another thing that slightly alarmed Jake. "How do you know about that?" Jake persisted.

"Oh Jake," Danika said, "I know about a lot of things you probably don't want me to."

Jake wasn't sure what to make of this, and remained silent, so Danika continued.

"You never truly understood the Aztec Skulls, did you?" Danika smirked, "The 13 skulls that granted a person an irreversible wish, and yet, it never stood out to you that you were somehow able to bend the wish and restore Rose's memories. I'll make I really simple for you, the wishes were irreversible because the skulls were able to power them."

"Where are you going with this?" Jake asked.

"Now that you've destroyed the skulls, they can no longer power the wishes they've granted. Many have become weak and easily broken, or bended, while others have been undone entirely. It all just really depends on the wish. Some of them went unaffected by the destruction of the skulls. Like Rose's wish. The Huntsclan was already destroyed. Obviously, a lack of power from the skulls didn't bring them back from the grave, in fact, you would need more power to do that."

"That doesn't tell me what I want to know." Jake said.

"If you would quit interrupting, I'm getting to that part." Danika replied, "Basically, your wish created 2 Rose's. Since the first Rose is the original one, that is the one everyone remembers, except for those who never knew the original Rose, but knew the second one. That is why you, and your friends remember her, and why that picture you carry around in your jacket exists. That is why she is able to remember her past life, and why she still has that birthmark on her hand. Everyone remembers the real Rose. The only people who don't, are her parents and other family members, who only have memories of the life you wished Rose to have."

The concept was a little difficult for Jake to wrap his head around. If he understood Danika correctly, she was telling him that everyone, except for Rose's family, remembered Rose's original life. The only reason her family remembers her new life is because they never knew her first one. Jake was about to speak when Danika beat him to the opportunity.

"I'll give you a little time to let that sink in, I need some alone time." Danika said, as she reached into her pocket, and pulled out a small vial with a glowing liquid in it. She quickly tossed it a small distance, causing the vial to shatter, and a portal to open where it had landed. Danika quickly escaped Jake's grip and threw herself through the portal.

"You're not getting away that easy." Jake said, as he opened his wings and flew through the portal after her.

This portal wasn't like the ones Jake had gone through previously. The portals Jake usually went through were kind of flat, the second he'd go through it, he would come out on the other side, like a door way, but this one was more like a tunnel. A large, green, glowing tunnel. He wasn't sure how long he would be flying through it before he would come out on the other side.

Danika looked back, and saw that Jake was following her, "Oh now you want to spend time with me." She taunted.

Before Jake could give her a reply, a bright light appeared ahead of him. As he reached it, he was thrown into the middle of a dark, concrete room, much like the one he'd just been in.

Danika stood by one of the walls, "Jake, I'm so glad you decided to come. Someone has been waiting for you."

Just as Danika finished her sentence, Jake heard a loud cry, "Ay-ya!"

He was hit in the back, and fell to the floor, with a surge of pain in his spine. He rolled over to see the distinct point of a Huntsclan staff in his face.

Jake's voice was full of surprise, "Rose?"


	25. She was done

Jake looked at Rose confused, trying to figure out why she currently had her Huntstaff aimed at his face. Call him crazy, but he considered that behavior abnormal for her, as was attacking him from behind and throwing him to the ground. He stared into her eyes. Something about them seemed strange.

"Rose," Jake said.

Rose didn't move at first, then she pulled the staff back over her head. Jake saw the approaching danger, and quickly rolled out of the way, just as Rose thrust the staff where his head had been a mere few seconds ago, the only sound she gave was another "Ay-ya!"

Jake quickly rolled to his feet, "Rose! What are you doing?"

His question fell on deaf ears as she quickly charged and flung a couple of swipes with her staff that Jake avoided with ease, while making no attempt at a counter attack. As she went in for another swipe, Jake caught the staff, and then twisted his body around, causing Rose to swing a quarter of a circle before she lost her grip and went sliding across the room. She came to halt in a 3 point stance, facing Jake. She raised her head and looked at Jake with a scowl. Jake returned the look as he tossed her staff aside. Rose sprang out of the stance and went running towards Jake at speed quicker than most professional football players.

She started to bombard Jake with a series of kicks and punches. It reminded Jake of a couple years ago, before Rose knew Jake's true identity. If there was anything Jake missed about that time, the Kung Fu fights were not one of them. Although he had a little difficulty doing it, Jake managed to block all of the attacks. He still had not made a major attempt to go on the offensive.

As soon as Rose stopped, Jake took the opportunity to re-catch his breath. He'd forgotten how evenly matched they were.

"Rose, it's me." Jake pleaded.

"You're wasting your time, Jake." Danika said, "Mind control spells can be really hard to break."

"So that's what's going on." Jake replied.

"I warned you the story of the dragon and the dragon slayer wouldn't have a happy ending." Danika taunted, "It's not too late to pick me."

"You know, I think I'll pass." Jake said.

"Such a poor choice. Finish him!" Danika shouted.

In a silent obedience, Rose began to rush Jake again, who began to prepare himself for the approaching attack. Just as Rose started to near Jake, she leaped into the air and flew over Jake. He quickly turned around, expecting another attack from behind, but instead saw Rose do a somersault just as she hit the ground and rolled to where her huntstaff lay. She picked it up and turned to face Jake.

"Rose, I know you can hear me." Jake pleaded, "You have to fight her."

Rose stood still, never breaking eye contact with Jake.

"What are you waiting for?" Danika shouted, with anger in her voice, "Slay him!"

"Come on, Rose." Jake continued, "I know you're stronger than this. You can break her control."

"Do as I say!" Danika insisted.

"Fight it, Rose, fight it!" Jake encouraged, "You're stronger than she is."

"Obey me!" Danika screamed.

"You can do it, Rose, I believe in you!" Jake said.

"Slay him! Slay the dragon! It's your destiny!" Danika yelled.

"We decide our own destinies, Rose. No one can tell you who you are, or what you will do. Just because you have a mark on your hand does not mean you are destined to slay dragons." Jake said.

"You're nothing!" Danika shouted.

"Rose," Jake pleaded, "You're smart, pretty, and the most wonderful person I've ever met. You're better than her. Fight it!"

Rose began to clutch her head and grunt, her eyes clenched shut in pain. She'd developed a major headache due to the conflict in her mind, as she tried to break Danika's influence. Suddenly it seemed as if there was pop inside her mind, and she stared blankly off into the distance. For a moment, there was nothing, and then, life.

"Jake?" Rose said softly. Her eyes scanned the environment, trying to figure out how she'd gotten there, "Where..."

"Rose!" Jake said with excitement, "You did it!"

Danika was shocked. "No!" She shouted in disbelief, "Impossible! How could she have..."

"Sometimes," Jake interrupted, "Magic isn't as strong as you think it is."

Before Danika could reply, a portal opened at the other end of the room, and out stepped Gramps, Fu, Sun, Haley, and Nigel.

"So this is where you'd gotten off to." Nigel said, "I thought we would spend forever teleporting from room to room trying to find you. Hope you didn't have too much trouble while you were away."

Jake turned to Danika, who was now sitting on floor. "Nothing I couldn't handle." He replied.

The group began to circle around her.

"You don't understand, Jake," Danika begged, "We were perfect for each other! We could've ruled together. We could've..."

Rose hit Danika in the head with her staff, knocking her unconscious. "She was done."


	26. One of Those Moments

Jake and Rose sat on the coast of the Hudson River, looking off into the sunset. In the distance, they could see the silhouette of the Statue of Liberty. The sky was a breath-taking orange, and the water was a dark, navy blue, with a waving, white middle as it reflected the light and rolled off gently in small waves. They could faintly hear the sounds of the city in the distance, and the cries of seagulls as they flew overhead in great flocks. For a moment, they heard the sound of a ship horn far off, as it docked into some pier somewhere. Everything was peaceful. It was a warm evening, the warmth of the sun soaked into their skin, and gentle, cool breeze flowed in from the west and into their faces. Jake gazed in amazement as he watched Rose's golden hair dance in the wind, as she stared out at the water, soaking it all in.

Rose gave a faint smile, "You know, you get so sucked up in your busy, day to day life, it can be easy to forget how beautiful the world is. Being trapped in underground fortresses can really make you appreciate all of it."

Jake had a feeling she was talking more to herself than she was him, but it didn't really matter. It was one of those moments he wished would never end. He wished he could just freeze time and stay there with Rose forever. He liked the natural silence. There was something soothing about listening to the wave gently rolling onto the coast, just farther down from where they were sitting. It was just one of those moments where it felt like everything was right in the world. Jake criticized himself allowing himself to believe that delusion. There was always trouble afoot. Especially in his position. He knew that somewhere, there was an evil, plotting something horrible, but he knew that in that same place, there was a good that would be willing to stand and fight that evil. He was certain that somewhere, there were dark forces plotting against him, and when the time came he would rise up and defeat those forces, but that time was not right now. Now, he just wanted to sit in the peaceful evening, and believe that all was good, no matter how wrong he knew he was.

"You know Jake," Rose said, never breaking her gaze at the water, "I don't think I ever thanked you for saving me." She looked down at her feet and gave a quick, light, ironic chuckle, "It's kind of funny really. It doesn't matter what situation I end up in, whether I'm trapped in a training facility upstate because I failed to slay a dragon, being lifted in the air by magical forces to my self-inflicted doom, living in an apartment on the other side of the world, with no memory of who I am, or trapped under falling debris in an ancient dragon temple about to be sucked into another dimension, you're always there to save me."

Jake took a moment and swallowed, as he put his arm around Rose, "I don't care how far you are, I'll always find you, and I'll always save you. Always... I promise."

**[END STORY]**


	27. EpilougeMessage from Author

Jake sat with his grandfather and Fu in the shop, debriefing their fight against Danika.

"So, Jake, I want you to think about all you have learned from this encounter. Lessons learned today can always be used to solve problems tomorrow." Gramps counseled him.

"I've learned magic can be easier to break than you'd think." Jake answered him.

"Good, now, let us review. What could have been done that would have made this task easier to accomplish? It will be good to know if we ever find ourselves in this situation again, or one similar to it." Gramps said.

"I can tell you one thing, if we got some Krylock venom, that would have really made things easier." Jake replied.

"Jake," Gramps said, "we need ideas that we can actually use in the future."

"I don't get it, G." Jake said, confused, "Why wouldn't we be able to use Krylock venom to make a teleporting potion."

"Because the Dragon Counsel has put a ban on all venom." Fu answered, "They're monitoring everything really closely. All harvested venom has been destroyed, and anytime a Krylock shows up they have dragons on the scene within seconds to make sure no one can get any. Not even the lowest of crime rings can get their hands on any, and even if they did, there's no way they'd be able to smuggle it without the Dragon Counsel knowing about it."

With each answer, Jake only got more questions, "Why the big protection?"

"We can no longer risk any getting into the wrong hands, it would put the entire magical world at risk." Gramps answered.

Jake, still getting more questions with each answer, "Why now? Why is it suddenly more dangerous than it was 3 months ago?"

Fu dusted off one of his old, magic books, and opened it, "Well you see kid, Krylock venom is the only substance that can permit inter-dimensional travel."

Jake was still clueless, "Yeah, so what?"

Gramps wanted him to figure it out on his own, "Think back, Jake. Who would the Dragon Counsel not want moving from one dimension to another?"

The answer suddenly hit Jake like a rock, "The Dark Dragon!"

"Hey! Hey! Give the kid a prize!" Fu shouted.

"At the current moment in time, the Dark Dragon is stuck in another dimension for the next thousand years." Gramps explained, "Which means the magical world is guaranteed a thousand years without the presence of its greatest threat. However, if someone were to use a Krylock potion to open an inter-dimensional portal, they could use it to free the Dark Dragon."

"But who would do something like that?" Jake asked, a little stunned.

"Hey kid," Fu said, "The name 'Chang' ring a bell?"

Before Jake could ask another question, the door opened, and Jake looked up to see Rose walk in.

"Jake, there's something we need to talk about." Rose said, a little uneasy.

"What is it?" Jake asked.

Rose looked at him for a second, "My sister."

**[AUTHOR'S NOTE:]**

Well after a couple months of writing it has come to an end. Before I move on to the next story, which rest assured, there will be a lot more, I would like to kind of break down some things you may have missed or not understood in this one. Just as an obvious one, there was a lot of foreshadowing, which I would recommend reading over this one more time real quick so you can see it all now that you know the end. Also, some of you may have found it odd that I didn't mention anything about Rose's twin (which is a very popular subject for other fanfics) it is because I didn't want to this time around, but don't worry, I didn't forget about it, I will be getting around to it.

I'm going to start with the metaphor of the doors. Off the top of my head I can't remember which chapter it was, but it was when Jake found Rose for the first time after she'd been kidnapped and left in the tunnels. I mentioned 3 doors with different symbols on them. These actually represent my ideas for sequels to this story. Obviously this one was focused on Rose, and the door with the Rose on it represented this story. Now I know I just gave a quick tease for sequels, and although I do plan on using at least one, if not both, of the ideas above, it's a mystery of when I'm going to do it. I will tell you this, for the next story, I'm using the door with the mysterious symbol on it, and I can't wait to get into that.

I also mentioned 3 black doors that Jake disregarded. Those represent ideas I have for off canon stories. (stories that aren't apart of this storyline) I will say in the descriptions just how "off canon" they are, but plan on them being completely independent from both this storyline, and the original show. They will be a bit more... mature, I believe is the word I am looking for. For this story, I tried to keep things pretty light, and stick pretty close to the Disney-approved, watered-down plot we've all come to know and love from American Dragon: Jake Long. Which was really important to me when I was writing this. I wanted to re-create the American Dragon experience. I wanted authenticity in not only the characters, but the story in general. Something that could actually be an episode. I've read a couple of other fanfictions, and some of the things I've read were so far out there, they practically ruined the story. For these off canon stories, I'm going to open the floodgates, and explore the darker possibilities of a story about a boy with dragon powers, being hunted by a terrorist cult (the Huntsclan) who's main goal is the genocide of all magical creatures.

Basically just imagine it like it's American Dragon... but it was written by the writers of Teen Wolf.

Now this time around I am going to do things a little bit differently. On this story, I wrote it as I went along, and would post the chapter right after I finished writing it. The problem is when you have school, and a job, it can be hard to find the time to create content for a story and 2 youtube channels. 2 of those are going to get neglected for a bit. Whenever I had time, I updated whichever had gone the longest without an update... which today happens to be this, as you can tell, I just barely posted the final chapter 30 seconds before I posted this.

So for the next one, I am going to take maybe 1 or 2 months off, and in that time, I am going write the next story, so it will be finished by the time I start posting it, and I will be able to post chapters on a more consistent basis. During the couple of months I'm not here, I will continue to read reviews and update the American Dragon Season 3 youtube channel. If you have any questions you can leave them in the review/comment sections or PM them to me here or there.

So I hope you stick around and enjoy that, and I will see you in a couple of months when I finish the next story.


End file.
